MLB: Darvish fans 14 in Rangers' win

Yu Darvish struck out 14 and Adrian Beltre hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning as Texas beat Boston 4-3 on Sunday, completing a three-game sweep and matching the Red Sox for the best record in the majors.

The Rangers, Red Sox and St. Louis all have 20-11 marks.

Beltre lined a hit to right-center off Clayton Mortensen (0-2) that sent home Elvis Andrus, who reached on a two-out single and moved up on a wild pitch. Boston then intentionally walked Lance Berkman.

Darvish matched a career high for strikeouts and left after throwing a career-high 127 pitches in seven innings. Joe Nathan (1-0) worked around a walk and a hit in the ninth.

While Darvish had 14 strikeouts for the second time this season, the right-hander from Japan allowed multiple homers in a game for only the second time in 36 starts. David Ortiz and David Ross connected in the first two innings.

TIGERS 9, ASTROS 0: Justin Verlander held Houston hitless until the seventh inning, and Detroit romped to a four-game sweep of Houston. Verlander, who has already pitched two no-hitters in his career, made a bid for another one against the overmatched Astros in their sixth straight loss. Carlos Pena got Houston’s first hit, a single with one out in the seventh. Carlos Corporan followed with a single. Verlander (4-2) struck out nine and left after the seventh. The 2011 AL MVP and Cy Award Young winner has a 1.55 ERA this season.

ATHLETICS 5, YANKEES 4: Josh Donaldson hit Oakland’s third home run of the game, a tiebreaking drive off Boone Logan in the eighth inning that lifted the Athletics over New York. Luke Montz and Yoenis Cespedes homered as Oakland took a 4-1 lead against Andy Pettitte, who struggled for the second straight start, but the Yankees rallied in the sixth against reliever Jerry Blevins. Preston Claiborne followed Pettitte and retired six straight batters in his major league debut.

ORIOLES 8, ANGELS 4: J.J. Hardy and Manny Machado each hit a two-run homer off Jerome Williams in his first start of the season, leading Baltimore over the reeling Los Angeles Angels. Jason Hammel (5-1) allowed four runs and nine hits through six innings. The right-hander came in 0-3 with a 7.31 ERA in three previous starts against the Angels. Mike Trout homered for the Angels, whose 11-20 start has matched the worst in franchise history.

TWINS 4, INDIANS 2: Mike Pelfrey (3-3) pitched six effective innings, Trevor Plouffe hit a two-run homer, and Minnesota stopped Cleveland’s six-game winning streak. Justin Morneau drove in a run with a bases-loaded single in the sixth, and Joe Mauer, who was in a 5-for-43 slump, added an RBI double in the seventh for his 1,300th career hit.

BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 2: Mark DeRosa hit a three-run homer, Melky Cabrera added a solo shot, and Toronto snapped a four-game skid by beating Seattle. Brandon Morrow (1-2) pitched three-hit ball over eight innings for his first win of the year. He struck out eight, matching a season high. Cabrera was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and his first home run for the Blue Jays. DeRosa went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and scored three times as Toronto improved to 8-0 when scoring five or more runs.

ROYALS 6, WHITE SOX 5: Alex Gordon hit an RBI single with two outs in the 10th, and Kansas City, saved when Billy Butler sent the game into extra innings, rallied past Chicago. Butler’s two-out, two-run double in the ninth tied it for the Royals. Addison Reed blew his first save in 18 opportunities dating to Aug. 25. He was 10-for-10 this season. Lorenzo Cain led off the 10th with his third hit and stole second with one out. With two outs, Chris Getz was intentionally walked and George Kottaras walked on five pitches, loading the bases for Gordon.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

GIANTS 4, DODGERS 3: Hunter Pence doubled twice and drove in four runs, Matt Cain (1-2) pitched into the eighth inning for his first victory of the season, and San Francisco beat Los Angeles to complete a series sweep. Leadoff hitter Andres Torres had three hits for San Francisco, and Marco Scutaro had two hits and scored twice. The Giants extended their season-high winning streak to six games and defeated Dodgers rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-2) for the second time this year.

MARLINS 14, PHILLIES 2: Adeiny Hechavarria hit a grand slam and a bases-loaded triple off an ailing Roy Halladay, driving in seven runs for Miami in a lopsided victory over Philadelphia. Kevin Slowey (1-2) gave up two hits in seven shutout innings for his first win since September 2010. He had been winless in 22 major league appearances, including 15 starts. Justin Ruggiano homered twice for the Marlins.

BRAVES 9, METS 4: Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs, and Tim Hudson pitched into the eighth inning in a win over New York. Freeman got three hits, including a two-run double off Jonathon Niese (2-3) in a five-run third. David Wright hit a two-run homer off Hudson (4-1), who gave up three runs on five hits and a walk in 7 1-3 innings.

CARDINALS 10, BREWERS 1: Jaime Garcia pitched eight innings, and Allen Craig drove in four runs to lead St. Louis to the franchise’s first four-game sweep of Milwaukee. Matt Holliday also homered for the Cardinals, who have won six straight. Garcia (4-1) gave up one run on eight hits in his third straight win. Marco Estrada (2-2) lasted 3 1-3 innings for the Brewers, who have lost five in a row.

REDS 7, CUBS 4: Joey Votto had three hits, Todd Frazier hit a two-run single, and Cincinnati completed a three-game sweep of Chicago. Mat Latos (3-0) extended his scoreless streak to 21 innings, tying a career high, but didn’t pitch past the fifth inning for the first time in seven starts this season. He struck out six and walked three. J.J. Hoover earned his second save.

PADRES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 1: Rookie Jedd Gyorko hit a two-run homer with two outs in the sixth, and Will Venable followed with a solo shot to help carry Edinson Volquez as San Diego handed Arizona its fifth loss in six games. Volquez (3-3) won his third straight start and the Padres, who took two of three from the Diamondbacks, won for the eighth time in 11 games.

INTERLEAGUE

RAYS 8, ROCKIES 3: Tampa Bay’s Alex Cobb pitched effectively into the seventh inning, withstanding three solo homers by Colorado. Jose Lobaton, Ryan Roberts and Kelly Johnson each drove in two runs for the Rays. Tampa Bay took two of three games and won a series at Coors Field for the first time in four visits. Cobb (4-2) went 6 2-3 innings and allowed eight hits.